Photo by Rene Huemer via @PhishFromTheRoad
On Wednesday night, in the second of two shows in Bangor, Maine, Phish treated fans to some expansive jamming in the second set, as well as fan favorite “The Lizards.”
“Crowd Control,” a standby opener at this point, started things off, followed by a short but sweet “Plasma.” “Army of One” and “Alaska” came next, which gave the fans a chance to sing along with the band. “Kill Devil Falls,” however, provided the first improvisational highlight of the night. Clocking in at only 11 minutes, this version packed some serious jamming into a short time, as Phish is wont to do these days. A major-key type-two section emerged directly after a type-one peak.
After not being played at all this past fall, “How Many People Are You” made its first appearance since 7/27/18. Next came “Petrichor,” the far-reaching Big Boat composition by Trey Anastasio. Considering it had been raining for much of Phish’s stay in Bangor, it was certainly a fitting choice considering the weather-themed lyrics. “Saw It Again > Sand” closed the set on a high note, as the grittiness of “Saw It Again” led nicely into a smooth “Sand” jam.
Set two began with the Kasvot Växt tune “Turtle in the Clouds,” complete with the synchronized dance from Anastasio and Gordon. “Gotta Jibboo” followed, making its second appearance of the summer. This version, while not straying from the structure, still contained some focused improvisation. Speaking of improv, the next segment was the highlight of the show: “Fuego” -> “Cities” -> “The Final Hurrah.”
In “Fuego,” the band quickly shirked the song’s structure and explored the unknown, moving from key center to key center with ease. Eventually, they settled in on a groove that resembled “Cities,” and sure enough, Anastasio started up the Talking Heads cover. After the short composed section, the band was right back into a heated jam, slipping in Fuego teases throughout. All of a sudden, Anastasio began singing “The Final Hurrah;” the segue was so smooth that the opening chords of this song sounded like part of the jam.
After this segment wound down, the band opted for another sing-along segment of “Prince Caspian,” “Farmhouse” and “Backwards Down the Number Line.” “Number Line” contained a quality solo from Anastasio. “Chalk Dust Torture” closed out the set, and its jam, while technically staying within the song’s original key, certainly felt more inspired than a standard version. The encore began with “The Lizards,” which is always a treat, and “Suzy Greenberg” closed out a quality two-night run. (For the setlist statisticians out there, this marked the first time since 1991 that “The Lizards” was placed before “Suzy Greenberg.”)
At the end of the show, Anastasio thanked the fans, remarking that these shows “feel like hometown shows” for them. He then gave one more shoutout to drummer/Lincolnville Board of Selectmen member Jon Fishman.
Phish tour continues this weekend in Camden, NJ.
Check out the full setlist – as it appears in our Box Scores section – below:
Phish
June 26, 2019
Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion
Set I: Crowd Control, Plasma, Army of One, Alaska, Kill Devil Falls > How Many People Are You, Petrichor > Saw It Again > Sand
Set II: Turtle in the Clouds > Gotta Jibboo > Fuego -> Cities -> The Final Hurrah > Prince Caspian > Farmhouse> Backwards Down the Number Line > Chalk Dust Torture
Enc: The Lizards, Suzy Greenberg
16 Comments comments associated with this post
Mr. Metamucil
June 27, 2019 at 6:24 pmI don’t know what to say. Underwhelming? I don’t know what’s worse, the mediocre feeling of the music and the ahole phans that seem to be ever-present in high numbers.
Mr. Palmer
June 27, 2019 at 4:12 pmFarmhoused, Caspianated, and numberlined all in one set…. Much like the kick in the ballzzz last summer at the gorge. These guys suck.
stephen csiszar
June 27, 2019 at 3:02 pm(not a paid comment!!)
We were at the recent show in Charlotte, NC and I must say that night was pure magic for this fan of 26 years. Some sets just shine, some not so much, we were lucky and they played “Lifeboy”. Yes, the obsession and categorizing is too much, but the fans at that show included kids, babies, Moms, hippies and Senior Citizens. They are who they are.
Pine tree
June 27, 2019 at 1:30 pmPeople need to learn –
Go to both nights – have lots of fun
The music was great
Maine is great
Phish fans are sometimes great
nugjar
June 27, 2019 at 1:05 pm** All of a sudden, Anastasio began singing “The Final Hurrah;” the segue was so smooth that the opening chords of this song sounded like part of the jam. **
segue, abortion …. tomato, tamato
Jerry Garcia
June 27, 2019 at 12:56 pmJust not a good show last night. Weak weak weak. Mainers need more.
MarZaPhiGar
June 27, 2019 at 12:45 pmI hate everybody & everything.
Feelings sharer
June 27, 2019 at 4:28 pmPlease, make a pointless blog post about it
donny boy
June 27, 2019 at 12:36 pmthis whole “jam” thing is lame. the writer : “only clocks in at 11 minutes”
as if the length of piece of music is what makes it. phish fans seem obsessed with categorizing, ranking (tiers, top 5, best etc)
it’s so juvenile. is the phish fan base all 14 yo boys? it reads that way and everything written about them.
music isn’t a competetion “let’s see who can”jam” the longest/hardest.
cheesey..oh and phish covering talking heads?
are they serious? lol
Careful, you ain’t perfect gurrrl
June 27, 2019 at 4:27 pmCompetetetions are fun though!…. whatever those are 🤔
me
June 28, 2019 at 1:26 pmHow dare you expect whiny trolls to have time to spend learning how to spell or how to enable/use spellcheck! There’s way too much internet that needs to be hated upon for such trivial matters 🙂
Try Harder
June 27, 2019 at 12:23 pmSo I didn’t see a 15 min Plasma open the second set the last night of Rosemont during the fall? I’m quite certain I did
Dookie
June 27, 2019 at 12:12 pmI don’t know what I dislike more, this band or these daily rapid fan obviously paid for commercial reviews… Much like when Phil Lesh was in $happy’s pocket. Must be buttering Phish up for another one-off Locken appearance. BTW, anyone remember laughter (Woodstock 50?)
me
June 27, 2019 at 2:26 pmNot liking the band, I understand that… you probably dig Miley Cyrus (have mom and dad told you… she’s also Hannah Montana!), so to each his own but to suggest “obviously paid for commercial reviews…” is laughable… so yea, I remember laughter and it’s your conspiracy theories, please share more. Have you eaten peanut-butter/nanner sandwiches with Elvis? BWAAAHAAAHAA!
Wookie
June 27, 2019 at 11:12 amLooks awful
Number One Phan
June 27, 2019 at 6:31 pmHow dare you criticize my band that is mire than a band. They are great poets, philosophers, and scientists of the jam world. You must be a bad person who isn’t worthy of seeing the Great Anatasio plucking his new agey strings and holding a guitar over his head like a prince! You are all worthless meanies. Karma will get you. Gotta Jiboo. Tah!